Blog

June 7, 2013

The first couple we will visit has two delightful little girls who are six and three years old. The family is from Iraq. The father worked for a British company as a security adviser in Baghdad but he had to quit that job because he and his family were threatened. They were told to leave the country. Although the father has an engineering degree, he had to support his family in various other ways for the next two years. He was a taxi driver for a time, until the family’s permission to emigrate to the US was granted. The father’s brothers and their families were also threatened; they are still waiting for permission to come to the United States. The mother has an aunt here, but most of their relatives are still in Iraq. Their greatest hope from their new life in the United States is that the oldest daughter will be able to get medical help she needs for muscular problems.

The next two families are related, and the parents of the young men were able to come to the US with them. It took them three days and five flights to travel to Arizona. This family is also from Iraq.

The first family speaks of a very dangerous life in Baghdad. There were constant threats of kidnapping to both the adults and the young children. The first of the young couples has two shy, sweet children – a four year old girl and two and a half year old boy. The husband worked with computers in Iraq. Their home in Baghdad was similar to the apartment where they are now living in Phoenix.

The next family we will visit is related to the family discussed above. These two brothers and their families live in the same complex. They, too, describe a very challenging life in Baghdad, where the husband only left home to go to work. The situation was so dangerous that they did not even dare to take their two children to the park to play. This family also worries about the safety of the family members that they left behind in Iraq. The father worked as a physical education coach. He taught volleyball to middle school students. This husband and wife are eager to improve their English and are willing to do any work available to support their family in Arizona. The couple has a pretty, poised seven year old daughter and a cute (shy) four year old son. The children love spending time with and playing with their cousins and grandparents who live nearby. The grandparents are currently living in a different area with another Iraqi family, but they spend most days with their grandchildren.